


Sweet Embrace

by Lost_Stories



Series: Takarazuka Prompt Series [22]
Category: Elisabeth - Levay/Kunze, People Who Have Wings/Elisabeth Das Musical Crossover if you squint, 翼ある人びと|People Who Have Wings - Takarazuka Revue
Genre: Attempted Suicide, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, F/M, Tragic Character, introspection on a character going slowly insane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:13:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26453167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_Stories/pseuds/Lost_Stories
Summary: "On the other bank, a stranger stood, beckoning him. A gaunt face, pale as the moon in the sky above."An introspective piece about the moment just before Robert jumps off the bridge in the musical.
Relationships: Clara Schumann/Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann/Robert Schumann
Series: Takarazuka Prompt Series [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753291
Kudos: 2





	Sweet Embrace

**Author's Note:**

> written for the takarazuka guess the author soragumi round! 
> 
> you do not have to have seen Elisabeth to understand this fic. 
> 
> see end for story notes

Robert stood on the ledge of the Rhine Bridge, staring into the inky black waters of the river rushing below. Noise. Why was there so much noise. It never stopped, always, _always_ music playing in his head, voices shouting, the pervasive high ‘A’ resounding in his ears. He needed it to stop, needed it all to stop, to silence the voices in his mind, telling him, urging him to–

_"Do you really think he's going to do this?" Said Eusebius_

_"I'm gonna go ahead and say yes, he_ is _standing on the ledge of the bridge, you know" Florestan snarked back._

~aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~

Robert shook his head, trying to clear out the cobwebs from his brain. Voices. Why were there so many voices. Voices telling him what to do, where to go. Where was Clara? Why couldn't he hear Clara? 

_"Stop thinking about it, just jump if you're going to!"_

That was Florestan talking, had to be…

_"No no, think all you need. Please rethink this."_

Who to listen to? Florestan or Eusebius? And why were they here… they weren't real, were they? Hadn’t he made them up? But their voices sounded as real to him now as those of his wife, of his children.

They were tumbling over one another, the sound of the voices nearly drowning out the notes playing through his brain. He tried to listen, to hear what they were saying, but the sounds all blurred together with the rushing of the river below, and he swayed forward. On the other bank, a stranger stood, beckoning him. A gaunt face, pale as the moon in the sky above.

The stranger held his gaze, smiling his pearly white teeth bare, and reached out across the river. He seemed strangely familiar, but it took his addled mind a while to catch up to that feeling of recognition. The wind picked up and seemed to pull him along, further towards the river, and suddenly he knew the stranger wasn't a stranger at all, but his friend Heinrich Heine. He smiled, and Heinrich smiled back at him. It was an inviting smile, soothing, peaceful. If he could just reach that smile, perhaps he would be home. His beloved Clara would understand, and Johannes would be there to catch her. 

He fell forward.

~aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~

As icy cold of the water seeped into his bones, Heinrich embraced him. For a moment, all the sound fell away. The music, the shouting, the chaos, all replaced by blessed silence. He finally knew peace. Heinrich smiled, and he leaned into the embrace, tilted his head up to receive the kiss that would finally drag him into that kind oblivion of death. That would save his Clara of having to watch him deteriorate and wither away. He was going to die of this eventually, he knew it. And he couldn’t do that to Clara.

Clara. 

His sweet, kind, gentle Clara.

~aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~

_Clara's smile, as he met her after a concert in the cafe next door. He could wait for hours on end, he had, often as not, if only to catch a glimpse of that beautiful smile._

_Clara's laugh, as he walked in on her playing the piano with the children. That gentle sound, like the wind blowing through the reeds on a summer’s day._

_Clara's voice, as she soothed him to sleep after a bad night, singing of the stars in the night sky as she put him back to sleep._

Could he really just leave her like this?

The cold of the water faded as he was pulled onto the shore, and Heinrich's smile became an angry snarl, his teeth sharp and his eyes red. Suddenly, Robert did not want to be held anymore, and he struggled, tried to breathe as water rushed into his lungs and the edges of his vision turned black.

He coughed lung-fulls of water as they pulled him to safety, and as fast as they had disappeared, all the voices and sounds came rushing back in. There was no escape. 

~A~

**Author's Note:**

> Note 1: Florestan and Eusebius are two characters that appear in Schumann's writing about musical theory.   
> Note 2: during his descent into madness Robert Schumann heard a consistent A-note (a type of tinnitus) along with various full songs.   
> Note 3: Robert Schumann had met Heinrich Heine in his university days. He is also part of Empress Elisabeths love for Death in the musical about her life.


End file.
